The owner of a house in Ellendale that burned twice early Wednesday was convicted in a case two years ago where authorities said he used customer credit card numbers in the creation of fake credit cards.

And court records say Mark Allen Misgen in September violated his probation. Authorities have not indicated that the fire is connected in any way with the conviction, but they are aware of the case.

In short, Misgen had been struggling to pay restitution, then lost his house to a fire.

Misgen has not returned phone calls from the Tribune.

He faced four charges in Dakota County District Court. The charges of identity theft, credit card fraud and aiding and abetting credit card fraud were dropped, and Misgen pleaded guilty on April 28, 2009, to receiving stolen property.

His accomplice in the crime, James Michael Johnson of Shelton, also faced four charges, including theft by swindle. He pleaded guilty to felony identity theft in March.

Misgen owns M&S Auto Parts and Maggio’s Pizza. The Dakota County court files say he and Johnson made fake credit cards using the card numbers of customers, then purchased $20,000 in gift cards, electronics and other goods in Burnsville in November 2007. The files said the six victims had done business at M&S Auto in Ellendale.

Investigators cracked the case because a victim reported unauthorized transactions to Burnsville police, and a clerk at a Sears in Burnsville gave the license plate number to authorities of a man who took off after being asked for verification prior to making a $700 purchase. The plate led investigators to Misgen and Johnson. After interviews with the two men, search warrants were issued, including the pizza place, the auto parts store and the home that burned Wednesday.

On June 23, 2009, Dakota County District Judge Martha Simonett sentenced Misgen to 30 days in jail and three years of probation. He was ordered to have no contact with Johnson, stay away from Sears stores and to pay $5,166 in restitution plus $419 in fees, amounting to $155 a month. Failure to meet his terms could send him back to court, where he could face going to prison as a convicted felon.

However, according to court files, Misgen violated his terms on Sept. 12, 2011, by failing to pay his restitution and garnering more than one traffic violation. He had paid $2,170 and had $3,415 left.

He had a hearing Nov. 15 on the violation. He contested the findings, and another hearing is slated for Dec. 21.

Authorities have not said whether foul play was involved in the fire at 403 Fifth Ave W. in Ellendale. The house is owned by Mark and his wife, Sara. The Tribune has left messages with workers at the pizza place, asking for a returned call from Mark Misgen.

According to a Steele County Sheriff’s Office news release, the first fire, in the kitchen, was reported at 1:53 a.m. when one of the homeowners came home and saw smoke.

The release states the fire was extinguished, the house was ventilated and the property was turned back over to the homeowner after it was deemed safe.

At 3:53 a.m., a passer-by contacted the Sheriff’s Office to report a second fire at the same house. Ellendale Fire Chief Jeremy Reese said when firefighters arrived, the house was completely engulfed. The fire took four hours to extinguish. No one was injured.

The State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating.

Johnson, the accomplice, garnered the status of convicted felon in Minnesota and was sentenced in March to 19 months in prison — concurrently with time he already was serving in Arizona. That’s because he also pleaded guilty in August 2010 in Arizona to charges of theft and fraud. The state’s records of that case say the sentence was sealed from public view. However, records indicate he was turned over to the Arizona Department of Corrections in October 2010.